The president expressed satisfaction with concessions that would allow the U.S. to dictate the conditions for oil sales, as the country was already making money, but conceded that rebuilding Venezuela’s rusty, antiquated oil infrastructure would require considerable time and investment. “The oil will take a while,” Trump said, while insisting that future sales would be a win-win for both countries. 

“We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” he said. “We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.”

Asked by the Times about just how long the U.S. would control Venezuela’s oil economy, would it be three months? Six months? A year? Longer? Trump replied, “I would say much longer.”

TRUMP SAYS VENEZUELA WILL BUY US PRODUCTS EXCLUSIVELY USING MONEY FROM OIL DEAL

RUBIO: WE’RE ‘NOT JUST WINGING IT’: In briefings for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced a barrage of skepticism from Democrats who claim the Trump administration lacks a coherent plan for “running” Venezuela, and was “just winging it.”

“I used to be a senator, too. That’s what you always say when it’s the other party,” Rubio told reporters after meeting with senators. “The bottom line is we’ve gone into great detail with them about the planning; we’ve described it to them. In fact, it’s not just winging it.”

Rubio gave a thumbnail sketch of the administration’s threefold plan for stabilization, recovery, and eventually transition.

“We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. We’re going to sell it in the marketplace – at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting,” Rubio said. “That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime. So, we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front.”

Recovery, Rubio said, would involve ensuring that U.S. and other Western oil companies have access to Venezuelan oil in “a way that’s fair,” while beginning a reconciliation process so members of the political opposition get amnesty and are released from prison and allowed to return to the country.

The fewest details were given for the final phase, the “transition,” with no timeline or specifics provided. “In the society we now live in, everyone wants instant outcomes. They want it to happen overnight. It’s not going to work that way,” Rubio said. “In the end, it will be up to the Venezuelan people to transform their country,” adding that the U.S. would be using its considerable leverage to facilitate political reform at some unknown time in the future.

RUBIO OUTLINES THREE-STEP PLAN ABOUT WHAT COMES NEXT FOR VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT

VANCE: ‘CRITICAL HIGH-QUALITY DIPLOMACY’: In an appearance on Jesse Watters’ Fox News show last night, Vice President J.D. Vance said the intervention in Venezuela was an example of Trump’s doctrine that ”in our neighborhood, the United States calls the shots.”

“It does demonstrate American military excellence, which makes people afraid to cross us in the future,” Vance said. “Some of the best ways that you maintain the peace is to make it clear that you carry a very strong sword if you ever need to use it.”

“People always ask, ‘How do you control Venezuela?’ And we’re actually seeing it play out in real time,” Vance continued. “The way that we control Venezuela is we control the purse strings, we control the energy resources, and we tell the regime you’re allowed to sell the oil so long as you serve America’s national interest.”

“And that’s how we exert incredible pressure on that country without wasting a single American life, without endangering a single American citizen,” Vance said. “That is called critical high-quality diplomacy. We’ve done it, we’ve done it time and again, but we just did it in Venezuela.”

The intimidation factor already seems to be having an effect on Colombia and its left-wing President Petro. During the call to Trump that The New York Times was allowed to record, as long as it was kept off the record, Petro struck a conciliatory tone, which resulted in an announcement of an upcoming White House meeting.

“It was a Great Honor to speak with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who called to explain the situation of drugs and other disagreements that we have had. I appreciated his call and tone, and look forward to meeting him in the near future,” Trump said in a Truth Social post he dictated to an aide after the call.

“Petro’s call — which ran about an hour — appeared to dissipate any immediate threat of U.S. military action,” the Times reported. “And Mr. Trump indicated he believed that the decapitation of the Maduro regime had intimidated other leaders in the region to fall into line.”

TRUMP ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH COLOMBIA’S PETRO AFTER WEEK OF SABER-RATTLING

Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.

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HAPPENING TODAY: Pete Hegseth heads to California today, the latest stop on what the Pentagon has billed as his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, described as “a call to action to revitalize America’s manufacturing might.”

Hesgeth kicked off his tour earlier this week with a visit to Newport News, Virginia, where he told shipyard workers, he planned to travel “from the shipyards of the coast to the factories of the heartland to see the work being done by the military and our partners in American manufacturing to usher in a new golden age of peace through strength, a revival of our industrial base, all American-made by the best Americans.”

The tour coincides with an executive order issued by President Trump yesterday targeting “underperforming defense contractors,” who he accused of “putting stock buybacks and excessive corporate distributions ahead of production capacity, innovation, and on-time delivery for America’s military.”

“BEWARE,” Trump posted on Truth Social “This situation will no longer be allowed or tolerated!”

“Defense Companies are not producing our Great Military Equipment rapidly enough and, once produced, not maintaining it properly or quickly,” Trump complained. “Until they do so, no Executive should be allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars which, as high as it sounds, is a mere fraction of what they are making now. Additionally, the maintenance and repair of Equipment, once sold, is far too slow, and must be immediately enhanced. As President, I am demanding that maintenance be ‘spot on, on time.’”

In a separate post, Trump upbraided Raytheon, a subsidiary of RTX, and maker of the Patriot air and defense system, which he wrote “has been the least responsive to the needs of the Department of War, the slowest in increasing their volume, and the most aggressive spending on their Shareholders rather than the needs and demands of the United States Military.”

“Raytheon seems to think this is the Biden Administration, and this is ‘business as usual,’ IT’S NOT!” he ranted. “Either Raytheon steps up, and starts investing in more upfront Investment like Plants and Equipment, or they will no longer be doing business with Department of War.”

TRUMP TARGETS RAYTHEON AS ‘LEAST RESPONSIVE’ CONTRACTOR TO DEPARTMENT OF WAR

TRUMP’S 1.5 TRILLION 2027 ‘DREAM MILITARY’ BUDGET: In yet another social media announcement, President Trump said that “After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives,” that next year’s Pentagon budget should be increased by more than 50% to $1.5 trillion, to be funded by windfall from his tariffs.

“This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe,” he wrote on Truth Social, while insisting that the “tremendous numbers” being produced by tariffs — which he argues are paid by other countries, but are largely borne by U.S. businesses — will be “able to easily hit the $1.5 Trillion Dollar number.”

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. government collected gross revenues of $288.5 billion last year from tariffs and other excise taxes, up from $98.3 billion in 2024, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. That would cover a little less than half of the $600 billion increase over this year’s $900 billion defense budget. However, Trump said he would have plenty of tariff money left for other things, including, he said, paying down the debt along with providing a “substantial Dividend to moderate income Patriots within our Country!”

Reaction from Congress has been muted. That is to say, none of the major players have weighed in yet on what would be an unprecedented increase in defense spending.

RUBIO TO GREENLAND: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been summoned to Copenhagen by Danish officials frustrated by President Trump’s fixation on making the self-governing territory of Greenland part of the United States.

The meeting was requested by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and his Greenland counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, had requested a meeting with Rubio after Rubio told a small group of lawmakers that Trump would prefer to purchase Greenland, rather than using military force. However, yesterday, talking to reporters, he refused to rule that out.

“The President always retained the option. Every president, not this President, every president — always retains the option — I’m not talking about Greenland; I’m just talking about globally,” Rubio said. “If the President identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means.”

Rubio said that in his talks with lawmakers, he stressed that acquiring Greenland is nothing new. “He’s not the first U.S. president that has examined or looked at how could we acquire Greenland. There’s an interest there. So I just reminded them of the fact that not only did Truman want to do it, but President Trump’s been talking about this since his first term.”

Greenland has steadfastly said it’s not for sale, but is open for business. The U.S. already has a defense treaty with Greenland that essentially allows it to build as many bases and station as many troops there as it wants. 

WHY TRUMP IS LIKELY SO INTERESTED IN GREENLAND

THE RUNDOWN:

Washington Examiner: Rubio outlines three-step plan about what comes next for Venezuelan government

Washington Examiner: Trump says Venezuela will buy US products exclusively using money from oil deal

Washington Examiner: Trump dangles ‘reimbursement’ incentive for US companies to unleash Venezuelan oil sector in under 18 months

Washington Examiner: Trump announces meeting with Colombia’s Petro after week of saber-rattling

Washington Examiner: How Maduro’s fall will hit Cuba

Washington Examiner: Why Trump is likely so interested in Greenland

Washington Examiner: Trump says US will always support NATO despite plans to invade or buy Greenland

Washington Examiner: Russia and China see danger and opportunity in the future of Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’

Washington Examiner: Why the Trump administration is calling the Maduro mission a ‘law enforcement operation’

Washington Examiner: Senate Armed Services GOP backs Trump’s ban on foreign drones

Washington Examiner: Rand Paul says Venezuelan operation was ‘an act of war’

Washington Examiner: Stephen Miller goads panicked European allies and says no military would defend Greenland

Washington Examiner: Iranian official threatens preemptive strike after Trump vows to defend protesters

Washington Examiner: What will the US and Israel do about the Iran protests?

Washington Examiner: Walz prepares to deploy Minnesota National Guard as tensions boil over ICE shooting

Washington Examiner: First look at wall of buoys installed in river at Texas border

Washington Examiner: Trump targets Raytheon as ‘least responsive’ contractor to Department of War

Washington Examiner: US agrees to ‘security protocols’ for Ukraine, UK and France commit to deploy troops after peace deal

Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Why Maduro’s capture is such a major crisis for Cuba

Washington Examiner: Editorial: What the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ does and doesn’t mean

AP: Trump proposes massive increase in 2027 defense spending to $1.5T, citing ‘dangerous times’

Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Draws Up New Legal Justification for Raid on Maduro

Washington Post: US Reduces Number of Warships near Venezuela After Maduro Raid

New York Times: A Close Call for U.S. Commandos and an Emboldened Trump

Breaking Defense: ‘Overwatch’ from Space, Cyber Ops Foundational to Maduro Mission

The War Zone: Night Stalker MH-6 Little Bird’s Ability to Appear out of Nowhere Highlighted in Tanker Raid

AP: Trump’s Greenland idea isn’t new. The US has pursued it at least 3 times before

The Guardian: ‘Out with the Yanks!’: Thousands protest in Colombia as anger builds over Trump’s intervention in Venezuela

AP: Prime Minister Mark Carney to visit China next week as Canada pivots away from the US

Reuters: The last Russia-US nuclear treaty is about to expire. What happens next?

The Hill: Walz issues warning order to Minnesota National Guard after fatal ICE shooting

Defense One: The Right-to-Repair Fight Could Make or Break US Troops’ Robot-War Plans

Washington Post: ‘I voted so hard for this’: How the new Pentagon press corps covered Venezuela

Vanity Fair: Five Years On, Democrats May Be Losing the Fight Over January 6

Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Drops Mandatory 2-Mile Run on New PT Test, Moves Start Date Up to July

Soldier of Fortune: When Exposure Carries Consequences: Seth Harp and the Line That Shouldn’t be Crossed

Air & Space Forces Magazine: ULA Eyes Vulcan’s Second Space Force Launch amid Major Leadership Change

Air & Space Forces Magazine: What to Know About the RQ-170 Drone, Venezuela, and Stealthy ISR

Defense Scoop: Cameron Stanley Emerges as Frontrunner to Be Next Pentagon CDAO 

THE CALENDAR: 

THURSDAY | JANUARY 8 

8:45 a.m. 11493 Sunset Hills Rd., Reston, Virginia. — Naval Submarine League 43rd annual Symposium and Industry Update, with Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby; Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Director Adm. Bill Houston; Naval Submarine Forces Commander Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher; Naval Submarine Forces Commander Rear Adm. Rick Seif; Attack Submarines Program Executive Officer Rear Adm. Jon Rucker; Strategic Submarines Program Executive Officer Rear Adm. Todd Weeks https://navalsubleague.org/events/asiu

9 a.m. — University of Virginia Miller Center virtual discussion: “Trump’s strike against Venezuela,” with Alexander Bick, Miller Center faculty senior fellow; Allan Stam, Miller Center faculty senior fellow; Bob Strong, Miller Center nonresident faculty senior fellow; Cristina Lopez-Gottardi Chao, assistant professor and chair of public programming, Miller Center; Dan Restrepo, co-founder of Dinámica Americas, a strategic consulting firm; David Leblang, professor of public affairs, Miller Center; Eric Edelman, Miller Center practitioner senior fellow; Mara Rudman, practitioner senior fellow, Miller Center; Marc Selverstone, Miller Center professor of presidential studies; and William Antholis, director and CEO of UVA Miller Center of Public Affairs https://millercenter.org/news-events/events/trumps-strike-against-venezuela

2 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual forum: “Crisis Diplomacy in the Middle East: Insights from the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Teams,” with former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; former Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS James Jeffrey, WINEP fellow; Robert Satloff, WINEP executive director; and former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for the Middle East Dana Stroul, WINEP senior fellow https://washingtoninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register

3 p.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council event: “Cosmic coordination: Space diplomacy in an era of strategic competition,” with Michael Overby, deputy director of space affairs at the State Department; Taylor Jordan, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Commerce; and United Arab Emirates Commercial Attache to the U.S. Jawaher Al Mheiri RSVP: [email protected]

FRIDAY | JANUARY 9 

7 p.m. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW — Politics and Prose book discussion: Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th, with author Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press reporter https://politics-prose.com/mary-clare-jalonick

FRIDAY | JANUARY 16

3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave., NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defense and Security Department U.S. Naval Institute Maritime Security Dialogue in-person and virtual event: “The Status of the Force,” with Vice Adm. Brendan McLane, commander, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet; retired Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, chief executive officer and publisher, U.S. Naval Institute; and Jerry McGinn, director of CSIS Center for the Industrial Base https://www.csis.org/events/status-force-vadm-brendan-mclane